Taking Care of Your Jeans - The Denim Do's and Don'ts

Jeans are special and unlike any other garment in your wardrobe, so it’s important to treat them that way. Because we’re all about denim here, we thought we would share our do’s and don’ts when it comes to taking care of your jeans. After all, how you care for your jeans is important when it comes to long-lasting denim!

1. When it comes to washing your jeans, less is more. Washing your jeans once every 10-12 wears is a great measurement. This not only helps to maintain the fit of your jeans, but it also helps the denim fabric preserve saturation of color.  It’s also helpful to note that the washing machine will age your denim prematurely, so it’s important to only wash your jeans when necessary.

2. If you have a stain or spill on your jeans, it isn’t always necessary to throw them in the wash. Instead, spot treat it with a stain remover to target that specific area. Save the washing for when you’ve worn them enough.

3. Wash your jeans inside out. This helps protect the fibers from friction and direct detergent exposure. This also helps to prevent the color of your jeans from fading.

4. When selecting a detergent for washing your denim, choose one that is designed to preserve colors. For example, wash your black and dark blue denim with a detergent for darks.

5. Use cold water. When it’s time to wash your denim, use cold water (unless wash instructions say otherwise). It is best to wash your denim with cold water because warm water tends to accelerate color fading and shrinking.

6. For best results, separate your light and dark jeans. Although it is most likely safe to wash all your denim together, sometimes jeans can bleed when they are wet (especially darker colors). To ensure and maintain the colors of your denim, it’s best to wash and dry them in separate loads.

7. If you can, try to hand wash your jeans. Even though denim is a durable fabric, you are typically better off hand washing them since the human hand is more gentle. Again, use cold water here and soak your denim with a small amount of detergent.

8. If you don’t have the time to hand wash, wash your jeans in cold water on a short and delicate cycle.

9. Let your jeans air dry. It is best to line dry your jeans outside or hang them on a drying rack. Leave your jeans inside out to keep them from lightening in the sun if you hang them outside. Putting your denim in a drying machine makes them prone to tearing and fading. However, if you do dry them in a machine, dry them on a delicate cycle with a low heat setting (unless care instructions say otherwise).